Are We Really Working Hard?

posted by KTRH’s Cliff Saunders
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3 years ago

You hear it all the time. People complaining they work too hard and don’t have enough time for themselves. But the numbers show something very different.

We're actually working fewer hours than our parents did every week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says we are working 34 hours now as opposed to 38 fifty years ago. Rice's Stephen Klineberg tells KTRH though those numbers can be deceiving because of the economy.

“You have a bunch of people working hard and making lots of money. And then you have a bunch of people looking for work or working part time when they really need full time work,” Klineberg said.

So why do we feel like we are always working? Paul Bazell of Adviant told KTRH it’s because we are ‘plugged in’ all the time.

“Many of us are on call because of our immediate availability because of our electronic devices,” Bazell said.

And about those complaints about not having enough down time; we actually have more. The number is 42 hours a week now as opposed to 35 hours in 1965. Bazell says we're just not using our down time the right way.

“If we’re all connected with our phones and tablets we don’t really get much down time,” Bazell stated.

Klineberg says many people who aren't working spend most of their down time looking for work, making them feel like they aren't getting enough time to themselves.